The neighborhood was once part of the Parish of
Irajá, created in 1644. In the end of the 19th century and beginning of 20th century, the economy of the region, supported by
slavery, enters crisis and the old latifundiums start to be divided by the poor population, mainly by people escaping the urban reforms realized in the center of the city. In 1890, the
Dona Clara Station of trains was inaugurated, that gave name to the area of limits still not defined, that then was confused with
Madureira. In 1917, with the death of the doctor and sanitary engineer
Oswaldo Cruz, the local station is renamed and with along the time this name ends being attributed to the neighborhood. However until today in the neighborhood of Madureira there is a street with the name of Dona Clara. It belonged to Dona Clara the
Blocos of Dona Esther, "Quem Fala de Nós Come Mosca" (
Who Talks About Us Eats Flies)., ancestral of
Portela. In the 1920s, when Portela is founded, the neighborhood is already known as Oswaldo Cruz, that the first name of the council was
Conjunto Oswaldo Cruz. == References ==